By delivering the 11 recommendations and 50 enabling actions of the Roadmap to Renewables, the NT Government can deliver the renewable energy target, whilst maintaining the affordability of NT’s energy supply, and without compromising network reliability and security. 

In 2017 an independent expert panel released a detailed report called Roadmap to Renewables. The report’s key authors consulted widely with government agencies, community groups, developers, financiers and industry and found an increase to the Northern Territory’s renewable energy target of 50% by 2030, was achievable - with careful planning, appropriate governance, effective regulation, and policies to encourage investment. 

Most excitingly, the report found that capitalising on the Territory’s natural endowment of renewable energy resources would lower wholesale electricity prices, stimulating the economy, new investments and local industry, and growing jobs in the Northern Territory. 

Learn more about our 5-point plan to repower the NT.

The 11 recommendations of the report are as follows. Read the full report to learn about the 50 enabling actions that accompany these recommendations.

• Recommendation 1 – Renewable Energy-Enabling of Economic Development: To ensure long-term benefits for all Territorians, the Northern Territory Government should include renewable energy as a central pillar of economic policy, maximising benefits of forthcoming disruptive change in the electricity sector caused by the global transition to competitively priced renewable energy.
• Recommendation 2 – Align Policy Objectives: The Northern Territory Government should align its policy objectives, departmental activity and government programs toward the development and purchase of renewable energy-generated electricity.
• Recommendation 3 – Certainty for Investors: The Northern Territory Government should actively create an environment that has policy certainty that attracts long term renewable energy investment and financing.
• Recommendation 4 – Asset Optimisation: The Northern Territory Government should publicise an asset retirement/replacement optimisation strategy for existing gas-fired generators to facilitate the adoption of new, competitively priced renewable energy generation alternatives.
• Recommendation 5 – Build Industry and Community Confidence: The Northern Territory Government should align regulatory and energy system reform to ensure congruence with the 50 per cent renewable energy target and reposition current technical, legislative and social parameters to build community and industry confidence in the renewable energy industry.
• Recommendation 6 – Support a Competitive Market: The Northern Territory Government should endorse a competitive energy and capacity market framework for renewable energy in the Northern Territory.
• Recommendation 7 – Adaptive Regulatory Framework: The Northern Territory Government should develop a consolidated governance and regulatory framework that is able to adapt to new and emerging technologies.
  
• Recommendation 8 – Validate Network Capabilities Ensuring System Security and Reliability: The Northern Territory Government should immediately improve knowledge of the existing capability and capacity of the entire power system, including its ability to accommodate new renewable energy generation. Where possible, the government should take immediate action to kick-start the rollout of renewable energy projects.
• Recommendation 9 – Future System Planning: The Northern Territory Government should support the development of a detailed technical plan for the future power system, including reviewing the nature and requirement of demand, supply and transmission in the context of new technical and business models, while ensuring security and reliability as the nature of the system changes.
• Recommendation 10 – Implementation of the Future Grid: The Northern Territory Government sh ould optimise the implementation of existing plans for progressive network upgrades to facilitate the future grid required to support the transition to higher per cent of renewable energy.
• Recommendation 11 – Engaging the Community: The Northern Territory Government should undertake a variety of community engagement measures to ensure inclusion of disadvantaged customers, training of the workforce, and education of the public regarding renewable energy.